On Sunday June 3rd, hundreds of women, trans people and their allies marched through the streets of Toronto to a vacant building. Four Women Against Poverty Collective members had already entered the building, claiming it for affordable housing for women by women. The marchers erected a tent city outside the building but after a few hours the police forced the women away from the building. The Women Against Poverty Collective demands:

• We call on Mayor Miller and City Council to force developers to create safe affordable housing when they: ask for zoning variances, don’t pay their taxes, or allow their buildings to fall apart.

• We call on Premier McGuinty to immediately raise social assistance rates by 40% and to develop a coherent, well-funded province–wide housing policy that has timelines, clear number of units to be built, and accountability components included.

• We call on Prime Minister Harper to develop a coherent, well-funded Canada–wide housing policy and program, and to devote 1% of the federal budget to affordable housing.